Vol. 539 No. 1
70 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the amount of meat and bone meal which is in storage awaiting destruction; the plans he has to dispose effectively of this meat and bone meal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18810/01]
As of the end of May 2001 there were approximately 127,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal in store awaiting destruction. Some of this material, approximately 15,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal derived from specified risk material, is destined for dispatch to the Continent for disposal in the next few months.
In addition, my Department recently held an EU-wide tender for the disposal of up to 20,000 tonnes of meat and bone meal. A number of tenders have been received and are currently being examined. It is hoped to draft and agree contracts in the coming weeks to dispose of this material.
The use of further EU-wide tendering competitions to dispose of quantities of meat and bone meal in stock is under consideration.
